This is joint work with Jasmin Matz. The goal is to introduce a regularized version of the analytic torsion for locally symmetric spaces of finite volume and higher rank. Currently we are able to treat quotients of the symmetric space $SL(n,\mathbb{R})/SO(n)$ by congruence subgroups of $SL(n,\mathbb{Z})$. The definition of the analytic torsion is based on the study of the renormalized trace of the corresponding heat operators. The main tool is the Arthur trace formula. I will also discuss problems related to potential applications to the cohomology of arithmetic groups.